Dining out can often come at a hidden cost in the future, new research suggests. The study found an association between often eat in restaurants and an increased risk of dying earlier, along with deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
University of Iowa researchers analyzed 25 years of data (1990 to 2014) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a regularly conducted and nationally representative survey of Americans’ lifestyle habits. During that time, more than 35,000 adults over the age of 20 participated in the survey and answered questions about their diet, including how often they ate out. These data were then linked to mortality data updated for 2015. At that time, there were 2,781 documented deaths among those involved in the research.
The researchers classified the people in the survey who reported eating out at least twice a day as often as they eat out. And when compared to people who dine out less than one meal a week on average, those who often dine out have one 49% higher associated risk of death, after taking into account factors such as age, sex and other lifestyle habits. They also had a significantly higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease (18%) and cancer (67%).
“Frequent consumption of meals prepared outside the home is significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality,” wrote the authors in their article, Published Thursday in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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These types of observational studies can only point to a correlation between the things they are supposed to study, not prove a cause and effect relationship. And that’s a big reason why it’s complicated to draw concrete conclusions about how our diets affect our health, especially something as complicated as death. It is likely that a person who eats a lot out different in other important ways from someone who doesn’t eat out. If someone eats out frequently because they don’t have time to cook at home, for example, they may also not have time to exercise or have trouble getting enough to sleep.
At the same time, there are many other research showing that the food we get from dinner tends to be less healthy for us than food that we cook at home, especially when it comes from fast food or casual dining restaurants. So, while you shouldn’t necessarily think that dining out twice a day every day will definitely and directly increase your relative risk of dying earlier by 50%, it is probably still not very good for you.
“The message to take home is that frequent consumption of meals prepared outside the home may not be a healthy habit,” wrote the authors. “Instead, people should be encouraged to think about preparing more meals at home.”